Viacom Media Networks
New York City, New York, U.S. | founder = Robert Pittman | defunct = | location_city = 1515 Broadway, One Astor Plaza, New York City, NY | location_country = United States | locations = | area_served = | key_people = Bob Bakish (President and Chief Executive Officer, Music and Entertainment Group) | products = | brands = | production = | services = | revenue = | operating_income = | net_income = | aum = | assets = | equity = | owner = | num_employees = | parent = Viacom | divisions = | subsid = | homepage = | footnotes = | intl = | bodystyle = }} Viacom Media Networks, formerly known as MTV Networks, is an American mass media division of Viacom that oversees the operations of many of its television channels and Internet brands. Its sister international division is Viacom International Media Networks. The company was founded in 1984 after Warner Communications and American Express decided to divest the basic cable assets of Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, renaming it as MTV Networks, Inc. Warner-Amex had originally created and owned Nickelodeon, MTV, VH1 and The Movie Channel (TMC). Viacom acquired 66% of the company in 1985 and then acquired the remaining 34% interest in 1986. The company was renamed Viacom Media Networks in 2011. Cable channels owned by Viacom Media Networks Entertainment Group * Comedy Central7 * Paramount Network13 * TV Land BET Networks * BET ** BET Gospel ** BET Her ** BET Hip-Hop ** BET International (Europe & South Africa) ** BET Jams ** BET Soul Music Group * MTV ** MTV2 ** MTV Classic ** MTV Live ** MTVU ** MTV Tres * Logo TV4 * CMT2 ** CMT Music3 * VH1 Nickelodeon Group * Nickelodeon1 9 ** Nick Jr.5 ** NickMusic10 ** Nicktoons8 ** TeenNick6 Programming blocks * Nick at Nite (on Nickelodeon) * NickSplat (on TeenNick)11 Former channels * Nick Gas (1999–2009) * NickMom (2012–15) * VH1 Uno (2001–08) * NickSports (2015-18) Notes 1Channel created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment prior to 1984. 2Channel originally owned by CBS, became part of MTV Networks when CBS merged with Viacom. 3Created as VH1 Country prior to Viacom/CBS merger. 4Channel was originally known as VH1 MegaHits before being discontinued in July 2005 to facilitate Logo launch. 5Channel was originally known as Noggin before being rebranded as Nick Jr. in 2009. Co-owned with Sesame Workshop from 1999 to 2002. 6Channel was originally known as The N before being rebranded as TeenNick in 2009. 7Channel started as Ha!, merged with HBO's The Comedy Channel the following year, became fully owned by Viacom in 2003. 8Channel was originally known as Nicktoons TV until 2003 when it was rebranded as Nicktoons which was rebranded again as Nicktoons Network in 2005 and finally rebranded yet again as Nicktoons once more in 2009. 9Channel was originally known Pinwheel until 1979 when it was rebranded as Nickelodeon. 10Channel was originally known MTV Hits until 2016 when it was rebranded as NickMusic. 11Channel was originally known as The 90's Are All That until 2015 and The Splat until 2017. 12Formerly on NickToons until February 11, 2018. 13Originally TNN from 1983 to 2003 (as The Nashville Network until 1997; as The New Network until 2003) and was originally known as Spike until January 2018. Internet properties The company also owns internet properties, such as MTV News and AwesomenessTV. The company ran a virtual world system, Virtual MTV, in the late 2000s. It formerly owned Neopets, Atom Entertainment, RateMyProfessors.com, and other web properties before shutting them down or selling them to other companies in the 2000s and 2010s. Gaming properties In 2006, Viacom acquired Harmonix, a video game studio oriented towards music video games and the original developer of the Guitar Hero franchise, for $175 million. The two subsequently collaborated on the creation of Rock Band. That year, Viacom also acquired the gaming-oriented communications platform Xfire. In 2010, Harmonix was divested to an investment firm to become an independent studio, and Xfire was sold. In 2011, Viacom established a new in-house studio known as 345 Games, which is dedicated primarily to developing games based on Comedy Central and MTV properties. Viacom International Media Networks Viacom International Media Networks is a division of Viacom International. Its headquarters are in New York, London, Warsaw and Buenos Aires. It consists of MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon, TMF, VIVA, Comedy Central, Game One, Nitrome Limited, Shockwave, Addicting Games, Atom Films, Colors and Xfire. The Viacom International Media Networks network consists of: * Viacom International Media Networks Europe ** Viacom International Media Networks Northern Europe ** Viacom International Media Networks Southern Europe, Middle East and Africa * Viacom International Media Networks Asia ** Viacom 18 * Viacom International Media Networks The Americas Viacom Media Networks rating issues In the fall of 2012, media analysts began to report that ratings amongst some of MTV Networks' leading brands in the U.S., including MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon, were experiencing falls in viewership unlike other US broadcasters. It was reported that MTV Networks' portfolio of channels fourteen of the 16 channels in the MTV and Nickelodeon families had viewership declines in September, according to Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Todd Jeunger, citing Nielsen data. MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon were of most concern to investors. The three account for roughly 50% of Viacom's operating profit, estimated David Bank of RBC Capital Markets. See also * List of MTV channels * Viacom International Media Networks Europe * Viacom International Media Networks Latin America * Viacom International Media Networks Africa * MTV Networks Asia Pacific References External links * Viacom brands webpage * Viacom Media Networks Affiliate B2B website Category:Viacom Category:American cable network groups Category:Broadcasting companies of the United States Category:Viacom Media Networks Category:Peabody Award winners Category:Companies based in New York City Category:American companies established in 1984 Category:Paramount Television